The Secret Guardian
by GuardianofNature123
Summary: Mother Nature has gone AWOL, a new enemy threatens to grip the world in darkness, and the Guardians are fighting each other, the fate of mankind rests in the hands of... a journalist? Flora Nature may seem useless in the matter, but things aren't always what they seem...
1. Prologue

Darkness. Darkness everywhere. There was no light to be seen no matter where he looked. He scanned his surroundings, his head spinning, concience waving in and out like a tide on the beach, his memory of what just happened had only just started to return. Pitch felt awful, this wasn't the first time he'd been beaten in the most embarrassing of ways.

"First the Guardians, now a bunch of-of... children! And my_ own _nightmare horses too! That was a swell take-down, things sure went to plan!" Pitch muttered to himself venomously as he got up, careful not to trip over anyting or scape his hands on...hm...what was that? Pitch felt around to try and figure out where he was going, then all of a sudden...

_'Hold on, this is my cave, ah yes, I fell- well, got dragged back down here... I hope my eyes adjust soon, I hate this whole feeling-around lark... makes me feel weak.' _Pitch thought to himself as his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. He could just make out the faint outline of the entrance to a slim corridor, which had a small slit of light at the end of the hallway. As Pitch calmly glided towards the light, he could hear a small, sniffling noise. As he took a closer look at the end of the hallway, he could just make out a small shape curled up into a ball at the light, clutching tightly onto what seemed to be a teddy bear.

"Oh goody-goody...more children..." Pitch groaned as he strolled towards the child, running a bony, grey hand through his thick, black hair as he did so. He wasn't in the mood to scare her, or was it a he? Pitch couldn't tell from this distance, anyway, he'd save the terror for later, after he'd had a decent, well, decent-ish sleep, since sleeping on rocks isn't exactly the comfiest thing he could imagine.

"Who-who are you? Did my mummy send you to get me?" A small voice asked from the ball. Eeyup. That was a little girl. She looked scared, but seemingly spotting Pitch had cheered her up slightly. Pitch couldn't understand why she'd be happy to see him, normally children would do anything to get away from him, he _was _the Boogy-Man after all...

"No, I'm Pitch Black, The Boogy-Man, and you're kinda in my-" Pitch was cut off by a shrill whiney in the background, which was accompanied by Pitch jumping pretty much ten feet into the air and the little girl screaming her head off like a banshee before grabbing Pitch's leg and holding onto it tightly for dear life.

"Please don't let the bad ponies get me! Please!" The young girl cried as Pitch tried to pry her off his leg.

'_At least you get to cry about them coming after you, I don't- agh! What are you stuck onto my leg with?! Super-Glue?! Where's my crow-bar when I need it?' _

" ... please? I'm scared... I... please don't leave me..." Big, wet, emerald green eyes looked up at him, partially hidden by long, messy, ginger hair. Nobody had ever depended on Pitch, namely because nobody cared, after all, there's no such thing as the Boogy-Man. Dark shapes suddenly filled the room, spilling in from every angle, glowing golden eyes staring at them- no, not them, their fear. That's all they wanted, and right now... Pitch was scared out of his right mind. So was the little girl, which probably wasn't helping since the nightmare horses were now making steady progress towards Pitch and the little girl. Then they charged, a blur of black and gold stampeding in a huge cloud of darkness. Pitch quickly sweeped the little girl into his arms and ran as fast as he could, hallways and tunnels a blur as he sped away. After what felt like an eternity of running, Pitch finally found the exit and bolted for the nearest cluster of trees that he could see. The air was cold and crisp, and freshly fallen leaved coated in frost crunched underneath his footsteps, no doubt a sign that Jack Frost had been here. Oh how that name sparked a flame of fury in Pitch's mind, he would've loved to- well, whatever he would've loved to do, he couldn't, if this little girl doesn't get home soon, she would no doubt freeze in this could weather.

"Right, well, hopefully we've lost them for a little while," Pitch panted, feeling exhausted after running around like a headless chicken. "In the meantime, we should try to get you home, your parents are probably-"

"I don't know where my mummy and daddy are," The young girl cut off, fiddling with her small, fluffy, pink jacket, her cute, red boots scuffing the ground. "I'm looking for them, that's why I went in the cave, but then one of those scary ponies chased me into a dark tunnel. Then you found me," She lifted her head to look at him with a small grin on her face. "Can you... can you help me find them?" She asked. Pitch looked at her with a sad expression on his face, which made the young girl's grin slowly disappear.

"Sadly, no I can't, but what I can do is try to find someone else who can take care of you, if you like? Maybe they can help you." The grin came back, bigger than it originally was.

"Okay! I can't wait to show you to my Auntie Selena, oh oh oh, she'd be happy, and her little fluffy doggie! Oh it's gonna be fun! Come on, it's this way!" The girl grabbed Pitch's arm before dragging him along behind her.

"Woah, woah, woah, hold your jets. I don't even know your name!"

"Oh, I'm Flora, Flora Nature."


	2. Chapter 1: Dreams

Eighteen years later, Flora has grown up and is currently working as a journalist for the local newspaper. She doesn't exactly remember what happened 'that night', only that her mother had vanished without a trace. Flora never knew her father, he apparently left when she was just two years old, so her mother had to raise her on her own. She currently lives with her Aunt Selena, a kind woman who works at the local florist, who tends to brag about her job being the inspiration for Flora's name, and her aunt's fluffy Pomeranian Sacha, ( pronounced sa-sha, not sa-cha, it took Flora a tiny while to work it out) who is the most demanding, stroppy dog Flora has ever known, especially when he's getting walked, which is precisely what Flora was attempting to do.

"Oh you silly, old grump! We've gotta go this way so that I can pick up some more writing paper! NO! LEAVE THE PUPPY ALONE! Oh for sweet jam's sake Sacha, why aren't you listening to me?" Flora sighed as she tried to pull Sacha away from a small, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy across the road. Sometimes Flora wished her aunt had never gotten Sacha, he could be such a thorn in Flora's hip! Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Flora managed to get more writing paper and was beginning to head back home with Sacha when she heard a group of kids chattering about something incredibly interesting. Now, Flora wasn't exactly one to eavesdrop, but when the opportunity for a good story arises, Flora isn't going to throw that chance away.

"Hey, y'all hear about the monster that hides in the cave down in the National Park?"

"Yeah, though I doubt it's real."

"I heard it dragged a little girl down there and ate her alive!"

"Sure, and Jack Frost is my uncle!"

_'Hmm, a monster? In the National Park? If I'm able to find this monster and get a decent description and story out of it, I could become the best journalist in the world! Well... not the world, maybe the country.' _ Flora thought to herself. So the moment she and Sacha got home, she began to prepare for her 'adventure' as she called it.

"Woah, slow down there Speedy Gonzales, what are you getting so excited about?" Selena asked after Flora almost ran over her trying to carry some supplies up to her room. Selena was a tall, thin woman, with slender hips and long, black hair that reached down to her waist. She had beautiful, shimmering blue eyes and she always wore a smile on her face. If Flora hadn't of known her, she might have thought that she was a supermodel! She was wearing a light blue, long sleeved jumper with black, leather skinny trousers and knee-high boots. Like I said, supermodel.

"Well, have you heard of the rumour about the monster that lives in the National Park, well, I'm gonna try to find it, write down what it looks like, precisely where it lives, what it is, what it eats, that kinda thing. Then, I'll submit the info I have to the local newspaper and hopefully with enough luck they'll like it and they'll put it in the newspaper and-and-and-"

"OK, breathe for a moment. How do you know this thing is real? For all you know, it could be just a silly story, like the boogy-man hiding under ya bed." Selena placed her hand elegantly onto her hip, waiting for an answer.

"I know, it probably isn't real, but that's the point! If I managed to find out an explanation for this...thing, maybe, just maybe, I'll be considered to be the best journalist there is! Oh, I can just imagine it," Flora sighed dreamily, spinning her aunt around for a moment before placing one of the cans of food she was holding to her lips like it was a microphone. "Flora Nature, the number one most dedicated, risk-taking journalists the world has ever seen! Willing to take a plunge to sudden death to find out the truth for _you_!" She proclaimed, pointing a finger at Sacha before poking his nose and practically falling over in a heap of giggles.

"Oh alright," Selena agreed, still chuckling. "Just be careful sweetie, I don't want you to get hurt," she placed a delicate kiss on Flora's forehead. "My delicate wildflower."

Later on, Flora was roaming through the National Park with a thick trench-coat, black combats, thick, black boots and a video camera recording everything that Flora could see. Flora also had a back-pack full of useful things that she may need later on, things like canned-food, rope, a foldable tent etc. After about an hour of wondering around aimlessly through the woods of the National Park, Flora was starting to give up hope of ever finding the supposed 'monster'.

"I can't believe this! I have been wandering around for _ages _and I haven't seen so much as an _ant _crawling over a leaf! This. Is. Ridiculous!" Flora shouted to nobody in particular before throwing her bag angrily onto the ground and sitting on it. She sighed as she ran her long, slender fingers through her long, messy, ginger hair, trying to think up a plan. Just as she was catching on to a good plan, she heard a scream. But it wasn't a blood-curling scream that you might hear in a horror movie, it was more of a fighting scream, the kind of scream one might let out as adrenaline pumps through your veins and anger pounds in your head before you get into a brawl. Flora decided that, rather than stay on task and wander uselessly in the woods, she might as well find out where the scream came from, besides, a fight is much more interesting to read about than the writer complaining about sore feet and a pounding headache.

So Flora followed where she thought the scream had come from until she ended up in a clear patch of field, tree's neatly circling the perimeter of the clearing. There were two men fighting directly in the centre of the field, one was extremely tall, with a long, black cloak seemingly and grey, almost dead skin. His hair was black and it looked as though it had been combed by a rake, and his golden eyes burned with fury. He seemed quite frightening but at the same time, Flora sort of... recognised him. He was fighting someone who was shorter, younger, more nimble and slightly cocky if Flora were to be honest. He was wearing a light blue hoodie with skin-tight, ripped trousers. His skin and hair were as white as freshly fallen snow and his eyes were as bright blue as a winter morning. They were standing face to face, hands clenched, hoodie and cloak blowing in the slight breeze. The short one was saying something, but Flora wasn't close enough to hear, so letting her curiousity get the better of her, she made her way towards the clearing, being careful so that she wouldn't be spotted. Finally, Flora was close enough to hear what they were saying.

"Give up the act, Pitch! I know you've got something to do with the shadows!" The short man accused.

"How can you be so sure? Ever since you and the rest of the pathetic _guardians_ used my own nightmares against me, I haven't been able to do anything! My nightmares don't listen to me anymore! You made me look..look WEAK!" The so called Pitch shoved the younger one away, obviously trying to create some space. "Now go play with some snowflakes or stick your tongue to metal pole, Jack Frost. I have other things to do with my life than be accused by some mere ice-child." Pitch then proceeded to turn his back on, what was it he called the other one again? Jack Frost? Flora wasn't too sure, and gracefully walk away, like an actor leaving a stage. Although Jack seemed to have other ideas. Without warning, a snowball went whizzing through the air before crashing down on the back of Pitch's head. Pitch whipped around furiously, anger strewn on his fearsome features.

"Don't push me, Frost."

"Why not? Are you gonna hurt me?"

"Jack."

"Yeah, that's me. Can I help you? Oh no, wait, I can't 'cause I'm just an ICE-CHILD!"

All of a sudden, Pitch extended his right hand out towards Jack and a ball of black powder went zooming towards him. As nimble as he was, Jack easily avoided it, and was left grinning like a child who just won a video-game. What worried Flora was that instead of dissapating into a cloud of black powder, the ball had bounced off some trees, and was now heading straight for her! Flora cried out as the ball crashed into her abadomen, the force from it sending her flying into the tree behind her, whacking the back of her head into one of the many branches before slinding down the trunk and landing on the ground.

"Sweet jam... I never... wanna do that... again." Flora groaned as she rubbed her hand against the back of her head.

"Who are you?" A voice suddenly demanded, no, Pitch. Flora could only groan for a reply. She was in agony from the force of the ball and her head was spinning, darkness crawling around the edges of her vision, threatening to make her fall unconcious.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me," Pitch grabbed her by the collar of her trench coat and dragged her up and close to him. "Who. Are. You?" Flora mumbled, fading in and out of conciousness.

"What?"

"I'm... Flora... Nature." Suddenly the dark that crept at the edges of Flora's vision plunged her into a pool of dark, Flora couldn't hear nor see anything, she could only feel herself falling into darkness.


End file.
